MAC 



Macmault, in Geography, a town of France, in the de- 

 partment of the ArdouK-s, und chief place of a canton, in 

 the diftriti of Vouzicrs ; nine miles S.W. of Vou/.iers. 

 The place cont.',!"s 69.5, and the canton 4000 inhabitants, 

 on a territory ol 2425 kiliomet.rcs, in 14 commimes. 



MACHECOl,'^, a town of Trance, in the department 

 of the Lower Loire, and chief place of a canton, in the 

 diftria of Nantes , :8 miles S.W. of Nantes. The place 

 contains 1899, and th- canton 5152 inhabitants, on a terri- 

 tory of I j5 kiliomelres, in lix communes. N. lat. 47 '. 

 W'long. i°44'. 



MACHERA Lapis, in Natural H'ljloty, the name of a 

 flone of a ferruginous colour, frequent on mount Berccyn- 

 thus in Phrygia. Plutarch, and many other grave writers, 

 relate, that if any perfon found this Itone, and took it up at 

 the time of the celebration of Cybele, he inftantly wasfeized 

 with niadnefs. 



MACHERIA, in Geography, atownof Hindooflan, in 

 Palnaud ; fix mile S.W. of Timerycotta. N. lat. 27^ 35'. 

 E. long. 77° 15'. 



MACHERN, a town of Pruffia, in Natangcn ; 2; miles 

 S. of Rallenburg 



MACHERRY, atownof Hindooftan, in the country 

 of Mewat ; 70 miles S.S.W. of Delhi. 



MACHES IN, or Machisin, a town of Afiatic Turkey, 

 in the province of Diarbekir ; 105 miles S.E. of Raca. 



MACHIA, a town of Naples, in the country of Mo- 

 life; 12 miles S W. of Molife. — Alfo, a town of Naples, 

 ia the Capitanata ; 10 miles N.N.W. of Volturara — Alfo, 

 a towii of Naplef, in Calabria Citra ; five nnles N. of Bi- 

 Ignano.- Alfo, a town of Naples, in Principato Citra, on 

 the coaft ; 15 miles S. of Capaccio. 



MACHIAN, one of the Molucca idands, near the W. 

 coaft of Gilolo ; about 18 miles in circumference, and po- 

 pulous. The Datch have three forts garrifoned with 

 foldiers. lis principal articles of commerce are cloves and 

 fago : a 'ittle N. of the line. E. long. 127 ' 21'. 



MACllLANA, an ifland at the mouth of the river of 

 the Amazons, about 15 miles long and three broad; ahttle 

 S. of the line. W.long. 57 2'. 



MACHIAS, a port of entry, pod-town, and feat of 

 juftice m Wadiington county, and ftate of Maine, Ame- 

 rica, fitiiated on a bay of the fame name ; 20 mi es S.W. of 

 Paflamaquoddy, in N. lat. 47" 37'. This town carries on a 

 confiderable trade to Boflon and the Weft Indies, in fifli, 

 lumber, &c. It was permanently fettled in 1 763, and in- 

 corporated in 1784. The chief fettlements are at the E. and 

 W. Falls, and at Middle river. At, W. Falls, there is a 

 f;aol, and the eoui'y courts are held there. The entrance 

 of Mdchias river is in N. lat. 44 ' 3^'. W. long 66 56'. 

 The town is divded into four dillrirts for the fupport of 

 fchools, and into ^ ivo for the convenience of public worlhip. 

 In 1792 Vv'afhington academy was eftabli(hed here, which has 

 for its fupport a townfhip of land. In 1800 the town con- 

 tained i< 14 inhabitants. The exports confill principally 

 of lumber, vh- boards, (hingles, clap-boards, laths, and 

 various kinds of liewed timber. The cod-filliery, which 

 might be profecuted to advantage, has been neglected. The 

 faw-mills are 1 7 in number, and much employed. The total 

 amount of exports annually exceeds 15,000 dollars. From 

 Machias bay to the mouth of St. Croix tliere are many fine 

 iflands. Morfe. 



MACHIAVELISM, in Literary H'tflory, is a. fpecies of 

 deti liable poliiics, which may be defined m few words, the 

 an of reicjning tyrannically, the principles of which are in- 

 culcated in the works of Machiavel, a native of Florence, 

 iindpaiticularly in his treatife, entitled " Tiie Prince." M. dc 

 6 



MAC 



Wicquefort obferves. concerningthechara£lerof this writer* 

 Machiavel fays almoll every where what princes do, and not 

 what they ought to do. To the fame purpofe the chancellor 

 Bacon remarks : " Eft quod gratias agamus Macchiavello 

 et hujus modi fcriptoribus qui aperte & indidimulanter profe- 

 runt quid homines facere foleant non quid debeant." Machi- 

 avel was feci etary, and afterwards hilloriograplier to the re- 

 public at Florence. He was put to the rack upon the fuf- 

 picion of being concerned in a confederacy againft the houfe 

 of Medicis ; but he endured the torments of it, without 

 making any confelfion. Fle was as much an enemy to reli- 

 gion as to found po'itics ; and is faid to have died in tlie year 

 I J30, uttering profane jefts and blafphemies. Bayle. Sec 

 Macchiavelli. 



MACHIAWARA, in Geography, atown of Hindooftan, 

 in the circar of Sirhind ; 28 miles N. of Sirhind. 



MACHICOLATION, from mccbe, a match or wick 

 to preferve fire, and couhr, to flow, in Fortification, perpcn- 

 dicular apertures in the upper part of the gate of an ancient 

 caftle, for the purpofe of pouring down various burning fub- 

 ilances on the afiailants, when they were battering them, or 

 otherwife trying to force them open. In various ancient 

 charters, permiffion was granted to the owners of calUes, 

 emhattelandi, k/rnellandi, and machicolandi. 



MACHICORA, in Geography, a river of Madagafcar, 

 which gives name to a province, and runs into the fea on the 

 S. coalt. S. lat. 25'' 3'. E. long. 41' 12'. 



MACHIGASTA, a town of South America, in the 

 province of Tucuman ; 50 miles W.S.W. of St. Fer- 

 nand. 



MACHINE, in a general fcnfe, fignifies any thing that 

 is ufed to augment or to regulate moving force3"or powers ; 

 or, it is any inftrument employed to pnjduce motion, fo as 

 to fave either time or force. The word is derivcd^from 

 uK^ayr, machine. Invention, art; and is therefore properly 

 aoplicd to any agent in which thefe are combined, whatever 

 may be the ftrength or folidity of the materials of which it is 

 compofed. The term machine, however, is by common 

 ufage generally rellriflcd to a certain clafs of agents, whicli 

 feem to hold a middle place between the moll fimple organn, 

 commonly called tools or inftruments, and the more compli- 

 cated and powerful, termed engines. This diftinftion, however, 

 does not enter into the pretent article ; we fhall coufider 

 machines under two he&ds,Jii>!p/e and conipounJ. To the firft 

 clafs belong the k-ver, the Inclined plane, the fcreiv, the ivejge, 

 the ivheel and axle, and the pulley, commonly called the fix 

 mechanical powers ; though fome authors will only allow the 

 lever, and the inclined plane, to be fimple machines, the 

 ethers being compounded of thofe two. 



Compound machines are all fuch as confifl of a combina- 

 tion of the feveral fimple machines or mechanical powers 

 above-mentioned, the number of which in the prefent ad- 

 vanced Hate of the fciences is almoft infinite. Thefe are 

 again clafled ujider difFer;.'nt denominations, according to the 

 agents bv which they are put in motion, the purpoles they 

 are intended to effetl, or the art in which they are employed, 

 as hydraulic, pneumatic, inilitai'y, architeQural, &c. machines. 

 The ancients excelled in the two latter fpecies of engines, 

 but in thofe which relate to civil arts and inanufaftory, the 

 moderns have doubtlefs far exceeded their mailers. With 

 regard to military machines, the invention of gunpowder has 

 completelv changed their nature, and all thofe of the an- 

 cients are become ufelefs and forgotten ; thefe were princi- 

 pally of three dillinct fpecies, -viz. thofe employed for 

 tlirowing deltruflive u-eapons ; as the fiorplon, which was 

 for cafting arrows ; the catapulla for (lones and javehns ; the 

 pyrolgle for flaming darts ; the ballijla for bullets, &c. &c. 



Others 



